There are various sports in which it is desirable that an athlete grip a ball in a particular way in order to optimize the athlete's performance in that particular sport. To this end, there are various known devices that purport to assist or train an athlete to correctly grip and/or throw a ball. For example, some of these known device include:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,187 (“Kempf”) is related to a ball pitching training device. Kempf describes a disk-shaped device having two flat sides lying in parallel planes substantially one-inch apart and a circular profile with a circular perimeter surface connecting the two circular flat sides. The function of the device is purported to be as training participants to make a proper throwing motion with the pitching arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,838 (“Groves”) is related to a marked baseball cover. Groves describes a conventional baseball cover that has colored, lined markings on the cover that are purported to help either a pitcher or a batter to determine the amount of curve or spin that a thrown ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,813 (“Cinnella”) is related to an instructional baseball. Cinnella purports to describe a baseball for teaching a pitcher the proper way to throw a curveball. The baseball is shown as being generally spherical in shape and having various depressions that provide the ball with an exaggerated trajectory when thrown correctly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,925,273 (“Pratt”) is related to a baseball training aid. Pratt purports to describe that a baseball includes various indicia located on the surface of the ball for providing an indication to a pitcher of where to place his fingers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,238 (“Newcomb et al.”) is related to a practice baseball. Newcomb et al. purport to describe a baseball that is made to meet playing rule requirements as to size and weight but which has a small segment removed therefrom. Newcomb et al. contend that the ball, when thrown by a pitcher without any twist being imparted to the ball, will curve in the same manner and degree as a conventional baseball when thrown by a competent curve ball pitcher.
An example of a sport in which the athlete's grip may contribute to the performance of the athlete is softball. However, none of these prior art references adequately provide a device for developing a proper grip in athletics, and more particularly to a device that functions as a training aid for gripping a ball, e.g., a softball.